VOA文化艺术2023--伊朗电影上映，导演身陷囹圄

Iranian Film Opens as Director Is in Prison

　　In 2010, Iranian director Jafar Panahi was arrested on charges of making an anti-government film without permission and causing anti-government protests¹. The government banned Panahi from making films for 20 years.

　　Since then, he has made five highly² praised movies.

　　His latest, "No Bears," opens soon in U.S. theaters.

　　But Panahi himself is in prison.

　　In July, Panahi went to the Tehran prosecutor's office to ask about filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. Rasoulof was arrested in July for social media posts he made at that time.

　　The visit led to Panahi's arrest. He was sentenced to six years in jail³ based on a charge from 10 years ago.

　　Making films in secret

　　Panahi makes his films in Iran without government approval⁴. He has played himself in the movies, which secretly show Iranian society.

　　Panahi made "This is Not a Film" in his home. "Taxi" was filmed almost entirely⁵ inside a car, with a smiling Panahi playing the driver and picking up passengers along the way.

　　In "No Bears," Panahi plays a fictionalized version⁶ of himself while making a film in a rural⁷ town along the Iran-Turkey border.

　　Film critic Justin Chang of The Los Angeles Times called "No Bears" 2022's best movie.

　　The film comes at a time when the Iranian film community is under severe government rules. A week after "No Bears" was first shown at the Venice Film Festival in September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while being held by Iran's morality⁸ police. Three months later, a wave of women-led protests continue.

　　More than 500 protesters have been killed since September 17. That number comes from the group Human Rights Activists⁹ in Iran. More than 18,200 people have been detained¹⁰.

　　On Saturday, the well-known Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti was arrested after publishing a message on Instagram. The message expressed support for a man recently killed for crimes the Iranian government says he carried out during the protests.

　　International film awards

　　"No Bears" will test an Academy¹¹ Awards policy. That rule says only governments can enter films for the prize of best international film. Critics have said that permits authoritarian¹² governments to control which films compete for the valuable prize.

　　Film companies Sideshow and Janus Films have bought "No Bears" with the hope that it can win other prizes at the Academy Awards.

　　In "No Bears", Panahi rents an apartment from which he directs a film with the help of assistants.

　　At one point in the film, Panahi stands along the Iran-Turkey border at night. As he looks at the lights in the distance, he thinks about crossing it. Doing so would lead to a life in exile¹³ that Panahi, in real life, has refused.

　　Some parts of the film are very close to real life. Parts of "No Bears" were shot in Turkey, just like the story in the film. In Turkey, an Iranian couple is trying to get stolen passports to reach Europe.

　　The Iranian couple is played by Mina Kavani and Bakhiyar Panjeei. Kavani herself has lived in Paris for seven years. She left Iran after nudity in the 2014 film "Red Rose" brought media harassment¹⁴.

　　Talking about Panahi, Kavani said, "This is the genius of his art. The idea that we were both in exile but on a different side was magic . . . this is very interesting to me, that he is in exile in his own country, but he's talking about those who left his country."

　　When "No Bears" played at the New York Film Festival, Kavani read a statement from Panahi.

　　The statement said independent Iranian filmmakers have always tried to push against censorship. She added that Panahi said, "No matter where, when, or under what circumstances, an independent filmmaker is either creating or thinking."

　　"No Bears" opens in New York on December 23 and Los Angeles on January 10 before opening across the United States.

　　Words in This Story

　　society -n. the organization of people who live in a country or area

　　entirely -adv. completely, not partly

　　fictionalized -adj. referring to stories created from the imagination rather than reality

　　rent -v. to pay money to the owner of something for its temporary use

　　apartment -n. a room or set of rooms in which people live, usually inside a building with other apartments

　　nudity -n. the state of not wearing any clothes

　　harassment -n. behavior aimed to cause another person trouble through repeated attacks

　　genius -n. having the character of being very intelligent and creative

　　censorship -n. the blocking of any information that one person or group does not want to be seen or known by others.

　　circumstance -n. situation

1 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

2 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

3 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

4 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

7 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

8 morality   

n.道德（性），德行，品行，道德观（规范）

参考例句：

• Morality was the emphasis of his speech.道德是他讲话的重点。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality.他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 detained   

留住( detain的过去式和过去分词 )； 耽搁； 拘留； 扣留

参考例句：

• One man has been detained for questioning. 一个男人被拘留审问。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 exile   

n.流放，被流放者；vt.流放，放逐，使流亡

参考例句：

• After an exile of eight years her uncle returned to Cairo.她叔叔背井离乡8年后返回开罗。
• Napoleon was sent into exile on an island.拿破仑被流放到一个岛上。

14 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。